Padres’ Manny Machado Suffers Sprained Ankle Injury vs. Rockies; X-Rays Negative

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

San Diego Padres star Manny Machado left Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies after spraining his left ankle.

Machado slipped while stepping on first base after a first-inning groundout and immediately went down in obvious pain. He was helped off the field and replaced by Sergio Alcantara.

The team announced that X-rays on his ankle came back negative.

The third baseman has been red hot to start the 2022 campaign, hitting .329 through 65 games, with 12 home runs and 46 RBI.

Machado is also coming off a strong 2021 campaign, producing a .278/.347/.489 slash line with 28 homers and 106 RBI.

The 29-year-old initially joined San Diego on a 10-year, $300 million deal and has been worth the cost while helping bring the team into contention in the National League.

Machado was especially impressive in 2020, hitting 16 home runs with 47 RBI in just 60 games while setting career highs with a .304 average and .950 OPS. It was enough to finish third in MVP voting for a team that had the third-best record in the majors.

The five-time All-Star provides value both offensively and defensively and much-needed experience to a team loaded with young talent.

Machado hasn’t missed more than 10 games in a season since 2014, playing every possible game three times in his career. Alcantara and Ha-Seong Kim are the only other Padres who have played third base this season.